1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of micromachining, and specifically relates to a method for producing optical quality prisms having faces on the order of 375 microns wide and several centimeters in length. The method is suitable even for relatively soft, but polishable materials, but is not appropriate for extremely hard materials. It has been extremely difficult, using traditional methods, to produce prisms of this size and aspect ratio, due partly to the brittleness of the material.
1. The Prior Art
Some of the operations of the method of the present invention are well-known in the fabrication of optical components, such as the operation of blocking a workpiece onto a substrate for the purpose of performing cutting or polishing operations on the workpiece. In a typical blocking operation, the substrate or block is prepared so as to have the desired shape to receive the workpiece, and thereafter, the workpiece is adhered to the block by a film of an adhesive material, which may be a pitch, a wax, or an epoxy, among other possibilities. The block supports and lends strength to the workpiece during the cutting or polishing operation. After the operation is concluded, the workpiece is separated from the block by the application of heat or a suitable solvent.
At two stages in the method of the present invention, the workpiece is blocked to a suitable substrate, but the blocking operation is not the crux of the present invention.
Likewise, the operations of cutting a material with a dicing saw and of polishing a material are very well-known in the fields of semiconductors and optics.
The present invention combines these operations in a novel way to permit a hitherto unattainable result to be achieved.